ID Scammers Now Going After Food Stamps

Most of us think of identity theft as something that affects holders of credit cards and internet shoppers. But now fraudsters are using a phone scam to get welfare recipients' social security numbers. Using these numbers to break into their victims' bank accounts seems beyond the crooks' ambitions or expertise, because they have instead been using the numbers to claim their victims' food stamp benefits at bodegas and grocery stores. $40,000 in benefits have been stolen so far this year, says the New York Daily News. The Human Resources Administration told Newsday this has become "a common occurrence."